During his speech, Farrakhan stressed that members of the Black community must be part of rebuilding affected areas in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Just last week, Dick Cheney’s former company, Halliburton, was awarded a multibillion dollar contract to clean up the devastated areas. Farrakhan says those jobs should go to New Orleans residents.

“There are people from New Orleans, in other parishes from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that have a stake in where they live,” said Farrakan in his speech. “There are companies coming into New Orleans right now with millions of dollars allocated to them to be paid to clean up the streets from the debris that is there. It is in our self interest that those companies that got the contract hire those of us who are able bodied men and women that can go back to where we live, clean it up and then be a part of the re-building of that city.”

“The American people have come up with over 700 million dollars that they’ve given to the Red Cross and other charities — it’s our duty to form an oversight committee and force them to open their books and show us where the money was allocated.”

Farrakhan condemned George W. Bush for his slow response in the hurricane ravaged region and said that the President would pay a heavy price for his complacency in New Orleans and the destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war on terror.

“I say to the President of the United States and to the members of Congress, you cannot destroy the cities and towns of other people in the Nations and not expect the laws of justice to return to you what you give. Jesus said, ‘as a man seweth, the same shall he also reap.'”

Near the end of his speech, the minister quoted from the Quaran and stated that progress cannot be accomplished without going through trials or experiencing loss.

“I can guarantee this from the word of God that your latter state will be better than your present or your former state,” Farrakhan stated. And your change is on the way, don’t you doubt it, don’t you disbelieve it.